Consider January Joined!

Two days left in the month and I can safely say I hit my workout goals for January! 

What were those goals?  Well, I didn’t want to scare myself away from the gym again so I kept it simple…

• Some kind of activity at least 4 days per week.
• Preferably at least 3 of those days at the gym.
• Basic cardio with lots of stretching.

Aside from the fact that I got the plague immediately following Day 1 and ended up a little delayed at the get-go…I did it!

If you count the next two days (which obviously I do!) I completed 19 activity days in January.  13 gym days, 5 extra walks, 1 at home yoga session.  Not too shabby, eh?!

I do have to admit that this last week started out a little shakey…I lost my motivation for a few days at the beginning of the week, but on Wednesday I did drag my buns out to walk the dog and from there on it was all good!

Wednesday – doggie walk to the park…

Thursday – quiet early day workout…

Friday – happy to burn off some calories in anticipation of dinner…

Saturday – rare weekend trip to the gym (20 extra minutes!)…

Sunday – rainy day walk through the dog park and along the beach.  Chibi was pretty stoked to be soaked!  :)

So, two more days of this January cardio build-up then we get into Fit February.  This means the re-introduction of strength training.  Guess I’d better get to work on that plan!

Any other January Joiners hold it up through the month?  What’s your motivation?  or is anyone in need of a little motivation?

I’m still a January Joiner

Are you?!  How is your healthy lifestyle holding up now that we are a few weeks in?  I’m struggling to see results and let me tell you it’s annoying, but I’m keepin’ on keepin’ on!

Another week of cardio…this time with RUNNING.  Oh lordy.  I decided to up things from my speed walking and get my heart pumping so hard it felt like it would pop out of my mouth.

Monday – new workout – basic HIIT…

• Warm-Up = 3 mins (3.0 – 3.5mph)
• 8x 1 min jogging (4.5mph), 30 sec running (5.5mph), 1:30 min walking (3.5 mph) = 24 mins
• Cool down = 3 mins (3.5 – 2.5 mph)
• TOTAL = 30 minutes

Wednesday – same workout – new playlist…

Saturday – same workout – forgot my socks!

And since yesterday I spent my morning fighting a harrowing windstorm on the highway home from a friend’s house I decided I wasn’t going out in #yyjWindpocalypse again and did some yoga at home.

Sunday – yogadownload.com – Shoulder Opening Flow…

This week is more of the same with the addition of the rowing machine.  Preparing my upper body for the return of strength training in February.

What’s your favourite treadmill workout?

January Joiner Update

Week one back to working out = complete!

Keeping things simple with a few work day cardio sessions at the gym and a couple of outdoor walks with the pupper.  This week I crank up the cardio intensity…and by crank I mean like one minute of jogging.  :)

Monday – view from the gym…

Tuesday – my feets on the treadmill…

Wednesday – walk to the park with Chiberoo…

Thursday – cardio machine lovey dovey…

Friday – post workout schweaty face…

Saturday – rest and relaxation.

Sunday – snow walk with Michael and the doggies…

How is your January Joiner recommitment to life, health and happiness going?

January Joiner

In the past I’ve never really needed a milestone or date marker to ‘start being healthy’.  Overall my lifestyle has been pretty healthy for the last five years…balanced eating, balanced exercise.  A few cupcakes, a few carrots.

But… Somewhere along that long drive from Halifax to Victoria I think I lost my healthy living mojo.  I arrived here on the Island with a sense of entitlement to all things beer, cheese, and burger related.  All in the name of socializing with friends I had missed for the better part of three years. I felt invincible or something.  Like since I’d been so careful with my eating for so long a year of throwing calorie caution to the wind couldn’t hurt me.

Guess what?  Life doesn’t work that way.  If you stop working out, and keep eating poutine your ass gets bigger.  And all of a sudden your entire wardrobe doesn’t fit and you spend your time telling your new boyfriend that you have nothing to wear…ever.

So, instead of whining about it for another six months I’ve decided to join all of the other resolutioners and get my shiz together.  Time to get back to that girl I used to be.  Time to be a January Joiner.

My gym membership has literally been a drain on my bank account for months now.  I had all of that hip/leg/back pain over a year ago that slowed me down and kept me from working out, but honestly it just became the world’s best excuse to not do anything.  I’m acknowledging that now and tackling the simple things I can do and I’ll worry about the more intensive stuff later.

I don’t plan to spend much time here telling you about my escapades in fitness.  My workouts can be random and not all that interesting to anyone (including me!) but if something noteworthy happens I’ll be sure to update you all.

What I will do is eat healthier and share that with you.  Nothing like a month of posting cookie recipes to get a girl in the mood for salads, egg whites, and chicken.  Time to revamp some favourite recipes and see if we can healthify them…and if we can’t then I guess we’ll eat them full-fat and just take an extra trip to the treadmill.

When it doubt, run it out.  Word.

Anyone else a January Joiner? 

What’s your New Year’s resolution for 2012?